MHI picks Scotland for £100 million offshore centre

UK: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has announced plans to build a £100 million (€117 million) offshore wind turbine research and development centre in Scotland.

by James Quilter 3 December 2010

The move follows an announcement by MHI and the then business minister Lord Mandleson in February, that it was planning to launch an R&D centre in UK.

The UK government is providing grants worth £30 million for the project, which is expected to create 200 jobs by 2014

However, at the time of the announcement, MHI said it was looking at locations in northeast England. There was no indication why MHI decided against moving there.

Last week, Siemens announced plans to build a development facility in northwest England, to test its next generation offshore wind turbine.

Siemens’ move follows recent news by Gamesa that it will base its worldwide offshore operation in the UK. Other companies building offshore facilities in the UK include GE, Mitsubishi and Clipper Windpower.